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BREAKING
Occupied Palestine: Five members of the IOF wounded in clashes that took place in Rafah on Wednesday
Israeli media outlet: Netanyahu and Katz are expected to conduct a security assessment soon, and a wave of attacks in Gaza is anticipated later
Israeli media outlet: Gunmen emerged from a tunnel in Rafah and attacked forces in the area with gunfire and anti-tank missiles
Local sources from Damascus countryside: An Israeli occupation drone targeted the road connecting the town of Beit Jinn and Tell Bat al-Warda with 3 airstrikes, without any reported casualties
Al Mayadeen's Beirut Bureau chief: Addition of non-military envoy was agreed upon to pursue non-technical matters.
Al Mayadeen's Beirut Bureau Chief: Lebanese Presidency's statement affirms Lebanon's readiness to attend talks in an effective capacity.
Lebanese Presidency: President has assigned former Ambassador Simon Karam to head military technical committee in talks.
Israeli occupation forces carry out an arrest campaign during a raid on Surif, north of Al-Khalil in the southern occupied West Bank.
Syrian Foreign Ministry: Damascus expresses its gratitude to the countries that voted in the UN General Assembly in favor of ending the Israeli occupation of the Syrian Golan.
Ushakov: Russia and the United States agreed not to disclose the substance of the Putin–Witkoff talks.

'Israel's' stay in Lebanon a mistake: Israeli media

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Israeli media
  • 18 Feb 2025 13:43
3 Min Read

Maariv's military correspondent says that the IOF's stay in Lebanon will be a trap for the Israeli soldiers stationed in these positions.

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  • Israeli forces operate in a buffer zone in southern Lebanon as seen from northern 'Israel', Feb. 18, 2025 (AP)
    Israeli forces operate in South Lebanon, as seen from northern occupied Palestine, on February 18, 2025. (AP)

Israeli daily Maariv's military correspondent Avi Ashkenazi said that "Israel" is committing the same mistakes it committed in the past in the absence of military defense after October 7, emphasizing that "Israel is on a path toward drowning in the Lebanese swamp after 25 years of saving itself from it."

"Israel" does not have a strategy, and is operating similarly to "firefighters", with the upper echelons overwhelmed with putting out fires instead of building towards long-term steps, in the north, Gaza, and Iran, according to Ashkenazi.

He added that the Israeli Occupation Forces created two security belts in Lebanon, but it quickly became apparent that these security belts became traps for the soldiers who served in these positions, invoking the Safari incident when Lebanese Resistance fighter Amer Kalakesh killed 12 Israeli soldiers who were driving to Metulla in 1985, the Slouki disaster, and the Shayetet disaster, among many others.

Ashkenazi emphasized that "Israel" bled for 18 years in Lebanon with no real goal, and asserted that setting up outposts in the positions the IOF left 25 years ago is a mistake, as "many mothers and fathers will be crying," adding that there's no logic behind maintaining the positions in South Lebanon.

He concluded by saying that the Israeli army failed to provide a feeling of safety for the northern settlers, which can't be achieved by setting up bases in a "swamp".

'Israel' to occupy five 'strategic points' in Lebanon

The Israeli military announced that it will remain positioned at five "strategic points" inside Lebanese territory even after their withdrawal from the south on Tuesday,

Israeli military spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said, "Based on the current situation, we will leave small amounts of troops deployed temporarily in five strategic points along the border in Lebanon so we can continue to defend our residents and to make sure there's no immediate threat."

Occupation forces have violated the ceasefire agreement several times, recently by setting several homes on fire in the towns of Houla and May al-Jabal on Saturday, adding to a long record of arsons and detonations of civilian homes in the Southern Lebanese villages they were occupying.

More recently, Israeli troops opened fire on 13-year-old Khadija Atwi, killing the young girl in her hometown of Houla in Southern Lebanon, and also prevented people from retrieving her lifeless body. 

The Red Cross was barred from entering the town until Monday, when they recovered Atwi's body, in addition to evacuating six civilians who were trapped inside. According to her sister, the girl could have been saved had Israeli forces allowed someone to retrieve her, as her injury was not supposed to be fatal.

  • Israeli Media
  • South Lebanon
  • Israel
  • Israeli occupation forces
  • Lebanon
  • ceasefire in Lebanon
  • Lebanese resistance
  • ceasefire deal

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  • West Asia
  • 28 Nov 2025
Russia and China are not part of the Resistance Front, but they are playing an important role in building structures to bypass US power and thus facilitate a multipolar and freer world. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

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